Bolton Steam Museum
Encyclopedia
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which houses a variety of preserved steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s. It is owned and run by the Northern Mill Engine Society (NMES).
Overview
The NMES is a registered charity (No 532259) and the museum has received Registered museum status from Museums, Libraries and Archives CouncilMuseums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
(MLA), the government body responsible for museums and libraries policy. Due the fact that work is still very much in progress, it is unfortunately not yet possible to open the museum to the public on a regular basis, although special Open Days are held each year. However, visits by genuine enthusiasts or organised groups can always be accommodated by prior arrangement. (See website).
Steam engines
The following is a list of the mill engines that have been preserved and are on show at Bolton Steam Museum. For further details of the engine types, see steam engineSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
.
Crossfield Mill Beam Engine
- A twin-beam engine, of unknown make, with gear drive flywheel, circa 1840, from the Crossfield Mill, Wardle, Lancashire
Wasp Mill Tandem
- A tandem compound engine with CorlissCorliss Steam EngineA Corliss steam engine is a steam engine, fitted with rotary valves and with variable valve timing patented in 1849, invented by and named after the American engineer George Henry Corliss in Providence, Rhode Island....
valve gear built by J & W McNaught Ltd of Rochdale in 1902 for the Wasp Mill, Wardle, Lancashire
Parks St Mill NDC
- A "non-dead-centreMusgrave non-dead-centre engineMusgrave's non-dead-centre engine was a stationary steam engine of unusual design, intended to solve the problem of stopping on dead centre.- Dead centres :...
" inverted vertical compound engine, built by John Musgrave and SonsJohn Musgrave & SonsJohn Musgrave & Sons was a company that manufactured stationary steam engines. It was based at The Globe Ironworks, Bolton, Greater Manchester in England...
of Bolton in 1893, using Fleming and Ferguson patents, for Park Street Mill, Radcliffe, Lancashire
Diamond Rope Works
- An inverted vertical compound engine with CorlissCorliss Steam EngineA Corliss steam engine is a steam engine, fitted with rotary valves and with variable valve timing patented in 1849, invented by and named after the American engineer George Henry Corliss in Providence, Rhode Island....
valve gear built by Scott & Hodgson LtdScott & Hodgson LtdScott & Hodgson Ltd, was a manufacturer of stationary steam engines in Guide Bridge, Greater Manchester. For instance, in 1914, they supplied an inverted vertical compound engine with Corliss valve gear to Hardman and Ingham's Diamond Rope Works, Royton, Lancashire...
of Guide Bridge in 1914 for Hardman and Ingham’s Diamond Rope Works, Royton, Lancashire
Cellarsclough Beam Engine
- A McNaughted compound single beam engineBeam engineA beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
(originally c 1870) modified by Woodhouse and Mitchell of Brighouse in 1908 for Cellarsclough Mill, Marsden, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
Robey Uniflow
- A single-cylinder horizontal Uniflow engineUniflow steam engineThe uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased in the compound and multiple expansion types of steam engine by separating expansion into steps in separate cylinders; in the uniflow design, thermal efficiency...
built by Robey of Lincoln in 1926, originally for the Baltic Sawmills, Ammanford, South Wales.
Robey Cross Compound
- A twin cylinder cross-compound engine built by Robey of Lincoln in 1935 for the laboratories of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Barraclough Vertical
- A single cylinder "A-frame" vertical engine built by Joseph Barraclough of Barnsley in circa 1860 for Redfearn's Glassworks, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Chadwick Vertical
- A vertical engine built by John Chadwick Ltd of Manchester, that was used to pump water in Cellarsclough Mills at Marsden
Browett & Lindley
- A high-speed compound inverted vertical engine built in 1900 by Browett and Lindley of Patricroft driving an early two-pole dynamo by J H Holmes of Newcastle, from Lakefield Mill, Farnworth, Bolton
Tangye Horizontal
- A single-cylinder horizontal engine by TangyeRichard TangyeSir Richard Trevithick Tangye was a British manufacturer of engines and other heavy equipment.-Biography:...
of Birmingham from Vantona Textiles Ltd of Farnworth
Langbridge Diagonal
- A twin–cylinder diagonal engine built by Lang Bridge Ironworks of Accrington for textile printing machinery driving, from Bollington Printworks, Cheshire
Walker Fire Pump
- A single cylinder horizontal rotative fire pump engine built by Walkers of Radcliffe circa 1890 for the Fern Mill, Shaw, Lancashire
Other Engines
- A further 12 smaller steam engines of different designs by various makers
- A rare Musgrave barring engineBarring engineA barring engine is a small engine, usually a steam engine, that forms part of the installation of a large stationary steam engine. It is used to avoid the problem of the main engine stopping on its dead centre and so being unable to re-start....
, used to turn the large mill engines into the start position, a procedure that was originally done by "Barring" the flywheel by hand. This engine was in the Bolton Museum's collection but has been transferred to this museum which is only a few yards from its original working place.